In order to understand the science behind environmental issues it will be necessary to have a basic knowledge of the science of ecology.
Ecology has been defined in many ways. The definition that I prefer is that "ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between organism and their environment." Organisms interact with two distincly different parts of the environment. The "abiotic (non-living) environment" includes all of the non-living attributes of the environment including water, soil characteristics, temperature, etc. The "biotic environment" includes all of the living organisms and involves interactions such as competition, predation, mutualism, etc.
Hierarchical Organization of Ecology
Ecology can be studied at different hierarchical levels.
1. Individuals have phenotypic characteristics such as morphology (e.g., eye color, height, etc.), physiology (blood type, photosynthetic ability, etc.), and behavior (food preferences, response to stimuli, etc.). We can understand the characteristics of organisms by studying how natural selection has affected those traits.
2. A population is a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area. Individuals in the same population interact via competition and sometimes predation (e.g., canibalism).
Some species live in very large populations whereas others live in very small populations. Ecologists are interested in understanding the factors that influence population size (this is important because when population size equals zero individuals then a population has gone extinct.)
3. A community is a group of different species living together in the same environment. Interspecific interactions including competition, predation, and mutualisms are some of the most interesting, and most important, aspects of ecology.
4. An ecosystem involves all of the biotic components in a community as well as the abiotic components. Unlike the lower levels of the ecological hierarchy where the focus is on living organisms, ecosystem ecologists are interested in understanding theh flow of energy and nutrients through the ecosystem. Some of the most important environmental issues facing us today are caused by human alteration of these cycles.
Prerequisite Knowledge For This Course
I assume that you have some academic experience to the field of ecology if you are enrolled in this course. At a minimum you should have taken the ecology portion of BIOL 1404 from me or one of the non-majors courses offered by the Department of Biological Sciences or Department of Natural Resources. It would be even better if you had taken a course such as Principles of Ecology (BIOL 3309) or other advanced course that talks about ecology. If you do not have this background, don't panic. However, you should meet with me soon so that we can discuss how to make sure you are not too far behind.
Basic Ecology Information
A great source of information that will be useful for stregthening your ecology background is the Ecology Reader that I created for the Encyclopedia of Earth (http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecology_Reader-_Ecology_for_Teachers). I originally created this as an on-line textbook that I used in a graduate course entitlted "Ecology for Teachers" that I taught to practicing high school teachers enrolled in the Multidisciplinary Masters Degree offered by Texas Tech.
I don't expect any of you to know everything discussed in the Ecology Reader. For each topic that we cover I will post explicit expected learning outcomes on thet blog so you will know the information that I think is critically importantn for you to know.
Ecology has been defined in many ways. The definition that I prefer is that "ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between organism and their environment." Organisms interact with two distincly different parts of the environment. The "abiotic (non-living) environment" includes all of the non-living attributes of the environment including water, soil characteristics, temperature, etc. The "biotic environment" includes all of the living organisms and involves interactions such as competition, predation, mutualism, etc.
Hierarchical Organization of Ecology
Ecology can be studied at different hierarchical levels.
1. Individuals have phenotypic characteristics such as morphology (e.g., eye color, height, etc.), physiology (blood type, photosynthetic ability, etc.), and behavior (food preferences, response to stimuli, etc.). We can understand the characteristics of organisms by studying how natural selection has affected those traits.
2. A population is a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area. Individuals in the same population interact via competition and sometimes predation (e.g., canibalism).
Some species live in very large populations whereas others live in very small populations. Ecologists are interested in understanding the factors that influence population size (this is important because when population size equals zero individuals then a population has gone extinct.)
3. A community is a group of different species living together in the same environment. Interspecific interactions including competition, predation, and mutualisms are some of the most interesting, and most important, aspects of ecology.
4. An ecosystem involves all of the biotic components in a community as well as the abiotic components. Unlike the lower levels of the ecological hierarchy where the focus is on living organisms, ecosystem ecologists are interested in understanding theh flow of energy and nutrients through the ecosystem. Some of the most important environmental issues facing us today are caused by human alteration of these cycles.
Prerequisite Knowledge For This Course
I assume that you have some academic experience to the field of ecology if you are enrolled in this course. At a minimum you should have taken the ecology portion of BIOL 1404 from me or one of the non-majors courses offered by the Department of Biological Sciences or Department of Natural Resources. It would be even better if you had taken a course such as Principles of Ecology (BIOL 3309) or other advanced course that talks about ecology. If you do not have this background, don't panic. However, you should meet with me soon so that we can discuss how to make sure you are not too far behind.
Basic Ecology Information
A great source of information that will be useful for stregthening your ecology background is the Ecology Reader that I created for the Encyclopedia of Earth (http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecology_Reader-_Ecology_for_Teachers). I originally created this as an on-line textbook that I used in a graduate course entitlted "Ecology for Teachers" that I taught to practicing high school teachers enrolled in the Multidisciplinary Masters Degree offered by Texas Tech.
I don't expect any of you to know everything discussed in the Ecology Reader. For each topic that we cover I will post explicit expected learning outcomes on thet blog so you will know the information that I think is critically importantn for you to know.
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